<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
<meta charset="UTF-8">
<title>Tenko's right ankle by ToxicPineapple</title>
<style type="text/css">

body { background-color: #ffffff; }
.CI {
text-align:center;
margin-top:0px;
margin-bottom:0px;
padding:0px;
}
.center   {text-align: center;}
.cover    {text-align: center;}
.full     {width: 100%; }
.quarter  {width: 25%; }
.smcap    {font-variant: small-caps;}
.u        {text-decoration: underline;}
.bold     {font-weight: bold;}
</style>
</head>
<body>
<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/22662454">Tenko's right ankle</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/ToxicPineapple/pseuds/ToxicPineapple'>ToxicPineapple</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Femslash February 2020 [21]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>New Dangan Ronpa V3: Everyone's New Semester of Killing</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>(That's the prompt), Alternate Universe - Non-Despair (Dangan Ronpa), Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Conversations, Enemies to Lovers, F/F, Femslash February, Jealousy, No Talents, Non-Hope's Peak AU, Rivals to Lovers, Soulmates, Unrequited Crush, briefly, miscommunications, ribbon, talking about religion, toxic once again trying to be subversive with the soulmates trope</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-02-21</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-02-21</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-04-28 15:34:55</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>4,430</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/22662454</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/ToxicPineapple/pseuds/ToxicPineapple</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>It’s not that Tenko actually knows they’re soulmates. The ribbon has never materialised in Himiko’s presence, after all, so there’s no real way of finding out. It’s more like a gut feeling, because every time Himiko speaks, smiles, laughs, does anything at all, Tenko’s heart races so desperately that she feels like she’s going to implode. She finds herself overwrought with nerves every time Himiko is in the same room as her. Saying stupid things and acting impulsively. The embarrassment feels good, in a weird way. It’s an emotion Tenko recognises from novels and memoirs. She must have found her soulmate in Himiko. That’s the only explanation for why she feels this way.</p><p>There’s a small complication, though, in that while Tenko and Himiko do become good friends once Tenko learns how to speak around the smaller girl, Himiko has another very good friend by the name of Angie Yonaga. And Angie--</p><p>Well, Angie is just about the most insufferable girl that Tenko has ever met. Ah, forget girl, Angie is pretty much the most insufferable person in the universe.</p><p>---</p><p>Tenko is certain she knows who her soulmate is. Unfortunately, so is Angie. And one of them has got to be wrong.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Chabashira Tenko/Yonaga Angie, Minor or Background Relationship(s)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Femslash February 2020 [21]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1616182</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>13</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>92</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Tenko's right ankle</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>written for femslash february day twenty one! the prompt is "ribbon"</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <em>
    <span>There’s a string attached to your ankle that only you and one other person can see. The other end of that string is attached to the ankle of the other person. That other person is your soulmate.</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Seems pretty straightforward. String. On your ankle. (Tenko’s right ankle.) Connecting you to the person who is your other half. Will make your soul feel complete, or whatever. Compared to a lot of other things, it’s actually pretty reasonable.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It’s more of a ribbon, though. Tenko realises this when she’s seven, when there’s a gentle tug on the line, and she sits down for a while to rub the material between her fingers. Cool and smooth and flat, no loose ends all around. It’s not tied around, it’s more like fused to her. But it hangs loose over her foot. Theoretically she could just pull her foot out of the loop. But she doesn’t know why she would.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The ribbon, it’s also, like, not there all the time. Sometimes Tenko can feel it, materialising around her ankle, urging her in the direction that her soulmate will likely be found in, or else just resting there, appearing for no reason that Tenko can see. But most times it’s gone. Why it disappears, Tenko couldn’t say, but she assumes the experience is universal.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She doesn’t care much for finding out who her soulmate is until she enters high school. She has more important things to worry about. Warding off men with a long stick. Or in some cases her fists. Keeping her temper under control. (Easier said than done for sure.) Getting good grades. The like. She enjoys daydreaming about finding some beautiful girl and realising that they’re soulmates, though. Following her ribbon on one of the rare occasions when it appears and meeting the girl of her dreams. That’d be really nice.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>But Tenko’s viewpoint on the whole soulmates thing changes when she enters her first year of high school and meets a girl named Himiko Yumeno.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It’s not that Tenko actually </span>
  <em>
    <span>knows </span>
  </em>
  <span>they’re soulmates. The ribbon has never materialised in Himiko’s presence, after all, so there’s no real way of finding out. It’s more like a gut feeling, because every time Himiko speaks, smiles, laughs, does anything at all, Tenko’s heart races so desperately that she feels like she’s going to implode. She finds herself overwrought with nerves every time Himiko is in the same room as her. Saying stupid things and acting impulsively. The embarrassment feels good, in a weird way. It’s an emotion Tenko recognises from novels and memoirs. She must have found her soulmate in Himiko. That’s the only explanation for why she feels this way.</span>
</p><p>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>There’s a small complication, though, in that while Tenko and Himiko do become good friends once Tenko learns how to speak around the smaller girl, Himiko has </span>
  <em>
    <span>another </span>
  </em>
  <span>very good friend by the name of Angie Yonaga. And Angie--</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Well, Angie is just about the most insufferable girl that Tenko has ever met. Ah, forget </span>
  <em>
    <span>girl, </span>
  </em>
  <span>Angie is pretty much the most insufferable person in the </span>
  <em>
    <span>universe.</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Tenko doesn’t dislike her at first. Honestly, she’s really pretty, and she’s a bit weird but her smile is bright and so she seems energising to be around. Tenko knows she makes Himiko happy, has been hearing about it for a while, and so she doesn’t think it’s her place to judge. If Angie makes Himiko happy, there’s nothing </span>
  <em>
    <span>to </span>
  </em>
  <span>judge.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The issue at first is that Angie is just, really really handsy. Always hugging everybody, patting people on the shoulder, dancing around them. Tenko doesn’t care so much if it’s from a girl, but it irks her that out of everyone, the person Angie touches the most is Himiko.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Well, we’re best friends, aren’t we? Angie and Himiko are!” Angie beams when Tenko comments, nonchalant, on the fact. “So it makes sense that we’d be affectionate!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It’s not affection, though, Angie is literally just hovering over her like some overexcited dog. Tenko doesn’t say that because it’s really mean and she’s surprised the thought even pops into her head. She can’t help herself from sounding a bit irritated when she bites back, “Tenko is Himiko’s best friend.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Angie’s responding head tilt and smile are both far too smug for Tenko’s taste and she leaves the interaction with a burning feeling in her stomach. It doesn’t really matter. (At that very moment the ribbon materialises around her ankle, and the mere thought of Himiko manages to calm her down.) Himiko is her soulmate, so Angie will have to back off </span>
  <em>
    <span>eventually. </span>
  </em>
  <span>She probably realises this and just wants to spend some time with Himiko before then. There’s nothing wrong with that.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>That thought is soothing for a while. So much so that Tenko learns to ignore Angie’s ramblings about God, and her constant praise of Himiko’s looks while completely ignoring that Tenko exists in general.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Himiko has such lovely hair!” Angie chirps one day, and cards her fingers through it. Himiko raises her eyebrows, smiling curiously. Her cheeks, Tenko notes with a hint of satisfaction, are not dusted with red. “It is a very vivid colour, and so soft.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, it’s soft,” Himiko agrees. “My mommy has me use special conditioner.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Tenko doesn’t know anything about that stuff!” Tenko intervenes, earnestly. Himiko’s red brown eyes slide over to her, her lips pulling as she tilts her head to the side. “Could you give her some advice, Yumeno?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh, sure. I’m not an expert, though.” She looks pleased nonetheless. Angie bumps Tenko’s shoulder with hers later, walking away, and the burst of pride that is set off in her as a result is entirely unwarranted, but not unwelcome in the slightest.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>But that method of calming herself down becomes for naught when </span>
  <em>
    <span>Angie </span>
  </em>
  <span>starts talking about soulmates as well. She does it very casually; she’s a master manipulator, for real. Tossing in a mention of soulmates, or who her soulmate must be, almost every time that she and Himiko interact when Tenko is around to see it. Tenko doesn’t miss the way Angie’s sky blue eyes flitter over to her whenever she says those kinds of things, nor the way her lips tilt up at the edges when she gets even the slightest positive reaction out of Himiko.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Y’know, y’know!” Angie hums one day, putting both her elbows on Himiko’s desk and leaning in her face. (Himiko responds by resting back in her chair. She’s reading a book! How inconsiderate!) “Angie really feels like she </span>
  <em>
    <span>knows </span>
  </em>
  <span>her soulmate already!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Good for you,” Himiko says boredly.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Do you know who your soulmate is, Himiko?” Tenko can’t help asking. Her tone is a little bit intense, and Himiko must feel that way too because she looks at Tenko with a note of surprise in her face.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Well…” she bites her lip. “Sure I do.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Really?” Suddenly there’s an unfamiliar glimmer in Angie’s eyes. She reaches out and takes Himiko’s hand. “Who? Angie is very, very curious!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Himiko gives her an odd look. “Why?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh, y’know!” Angie beams, but when Himiko looks back down at her book, Tenko swears her face lights up red for a moment.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>They walk alone to the bus stop away from the school today, minus Himiko, who has cleaning duty with a friend and told them to go on ahead. They walk in silence for a good long while, but then, out of the blue, Angie speaks.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You know, Tenko,” she pauses. “Himiko is Angie’s soulmate.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Is she?” Tenko asks dryly. She feels her lips curl into a mean smile and she tries to extinguish it. “Tenko was under the impression that Himiko was </span>
  <em>
    <span>her </span>
  </em>
  <span>soulmate, actually, but--”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Tenko must be mistaken,” Angie giggles. “Have you even seen that your ribbons are connect?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Well, no.” Tenko frowns, and before Angie can start gloating she bursts out, “And </span>
  <em>
    <span>you </span>
  </em>
  <span>have?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>For some reason, this stops Angie cold. “...no, Angie hasn’t.” She admits after a moment. She looks briefly disconcerted, but then smiles again. “This means nothing, however! Because God told Angie this is so!”</span>
  <span><br/>
<br/>
</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh, God told you, Tenko understands.” Tenko can’t help sneering a bit. Angie’s brow furrows.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“What’s that mean?” She asks sharply. Tenko stops walking when Angie does, turning back to look at her face. She’s still </span>
  <em>
    <span>smiling, </span>
  </em>
  <span>but her expression is… it’s weird. It’s frozen on her face, not happy.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Tenko feels caught off guard by it, and the weird jagged feeling that she gets in her stomach as a result. Still, she speaks. “Well-- y’know-- God isn’t really real.” She says, as though this should be obvious. This </span>
  <em>
    <span>should </span>
  </em>
  <span>be obvious, as a matter of fact. “And even if He was, He wouldn’t really be talking to you, would he?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Right. Right, okay.” Angie’s voice burns with something Tenko has never heard in it before. “Angie will remember that you said that later, Tenko. When she and Himiko are confirmed to be soulmates. But it’s okay,” she adds. “Because when Tenko apologises, Angie will forgive. God is understanding, even when people are misguided.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She marches forward and doesn’t look back all the way to the bus stop. Tenko gets off before Angie does, and as she steps off the vehicle, she glances over her shoulder, and Angie doesn’t meet her eye.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>(The walk home, her ribbon appears again, and it weighs a million pounds. Tenko wonders if that’s on Himiko’s end, or her own.)</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Angie doesn’t talk to Tenko after that, unless it’s to passive aggressively say something about soulmates. Tenko wants to clap back, but for some reason every time she opens her mouth, she gets hit by a wave of guilt. She doesn’t know why. Angie was insisting that Tenko’s soulmate is her own. Anyone would be pretty angry at that! And anyway, God </span>
  <em>
    <span>isn’t </span>
  </em>
  <span>real. So why should she feel bad for stating facts?</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>She supposes it’s just that she empathises too hard with Angie’s anger to want to retaliate. She knows how it feels to be told that something she really strongly believes in isn’t true. To be laughed off all the time. And now that she’s consciously thinking about it, their classmates do so a lot. Angie isn’t taken seriously by anybody, ever. Miu calls her a dumb bimbo at least three times a day.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The only person who doesn’t mock Angie, well, that’s Himiko.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>(Still, Tenko doesn’t want to apologise. She will when they both know she’s right! When she and Himiko finally get some confirmation about being soulmates.)</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>At lunch, one day, Tenko sits across from Himiko and Angie, watching Himiko pick through her bento and listening to Angie ramble on. Something about marriage traditions back on her island, how people have pretended to be soulmates for the benefits of the legal contract. It happens in Japan, too, but since Japan is larger Tenko supposes there’s less attention paid to it. Nobody else can see your ribbon but your soulmate, though, so that kind of thing would be easy to make up.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>(Unless your real soulmate comes into the picture.)</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>After a while, Himiko remarks, “I dunno why you’d pretend to be soulmates with someone you’re not. Sounds kinda lonely. Whenever I’m with my soulmate, I feel better than I do with anyone else.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>This makes Angie stop short. She blinks at Himiko and says, “Oh? You never did say who your soulmate is, Himiko.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh. You never asked.” Himiko frowns.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I, did, actually.” Angie pouts at her.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You did?” Himiko scrunches up her face, like she’s thinking hard. “Oh. You did. Sorry, I didn’t mean to deflect. Yeah, you wouldn’t know them, they go to another school.” Just in case, Himiko adds, “Does the name Korekiyo Shinguji ring any bells?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Tenko feels something slimy and cold entering her stomach. She swallows down the rice in her mouth and it has trouble going down around the lump that has suddenly formed in her throat. Himiko’s soulmate… is someone from another school? That… doesn’t feel right, though. Tenko feels cold all of a sudden.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She had supposed-- well, she had never entertained the possibility that Himiko might </span>
  <em>
    <span>not </span>
  </em>
  <span>be her soulmate, but she thought that if Himiko wasn’t, then at least she’d be Angie’s. As much as she didn’t really like the possibility, she thought it seemed feasible. More feasible, at least, than it being neither of them.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>But then again, then again, Himiko has never really </span>
  <em>
    <span>shown </span>
  </em>
  <span>any interest in either of them. She’s shrugged off their attempts at flirting and focused on her own stuff. Sure, she’s their friend, and every time Tenko has needed her she’s been there, but… she doesn’t really… respond to that stuff. Angie’s touches are met with skeptical eyebrow raises and amused smiles. The times when Tenko’s complimented her, Himiko has given her strange looks and said, “Uh, thanks,” and left it at that.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Because she has a soulmate. She knows who her soulmate is, and </span>
  <em>
    <span>feels better around them than they do with anyone else. </span>
  </em>
  <span>Tenko feels, so, incredibly stupid.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Uh,” Himiko is frowning. “Chabashira? Angie? Are you guys okay?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Angie has been spacing off too, then. Tenko can’t help meeting her gaze, the look of poorly disguised shock that rests on her features. She knows what Angie is thinking, feels it reflected in her own mind: If Himiko isn’t my soulmate, then who is?</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>And the answer comes in a familiar weight around her ankle. Tenko looks down in shock, peering at her foot under the table, and sees that the line is… shorter, than usual, actually it’s…</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Leading right to Angie.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Tenko needs-- to go.” Tenko blurts, shooting to her feet.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Uh? Okay? Are you--” Himiko begins, looking concerned.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“It’s fine. Period.” Tenko says, not really thinking about it.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh. Oh. Do you need a tampon? I think I have--”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“No, it’s fine, Tenko has some. She’ll-- she’ll be back.” Tenko turns around and practically runs out of the classroom, her bag slung over her shoulder under the pretense of taking it for menstrual care, and doesn’t look back, doesn’t meet Angie’s eyes, because she knows… she knows Angie saw it too.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Instead of going to the bathroom, Tenko leaves the school entirely and dips on the bus, running all the way back to her house. Her parents are both at work so she just lets herself in and runs up to her room, tossing her bag to the side and throwing herself into her bed. She screws up her eyes and presses her face into her pillow, trying to get her breathing under control.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It’s Angie? </span>
  <em>
    <span>Angie? </span>
  </em>
  <span>Angie who is so annoying on purpose, who is so weird and overly affectionate and passive aggressive? Angie, who never stops smiling no matter what the conversation is, who now leaves the room every time Tenko enters it without Himiko, who won’t maintain eye contact with her for longer than a fleeting second-- or at least wouldn’t, before today. Before Himiko revealed the identity of her soulmate.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>But it makes-- admittedly-- a bit of sense.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The second the thought enters her mind Tenko sits up straight, furious, and tugs on her hair. No! It doesn’t make any sense. Angie can’t be her soulmate. There must be some kind of fluke. She glares at the ribbon around her ankle, wills it to disappear again. Begs it to disappear again, even. But it doesn’t. It stays there.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Well, fine. It’ll disappear eventually, and then Tenko will be able to ignore it. She closes her eyes again and flops back into her bed, concentrating so hard that she falls asleep in her spot, her face still all screwed up.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She wakes up early the next morning, it must be around five because the sun isn’t up yet but the sky is turning a pale blue through her window. The first thing she notices is an aching pain in her chest, the one that always comes with sleeping with her bra on. The second thing she notices is that the ribbon is still around her ankle.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It trails off the bed, feeds through her bedroom door (which she doesn’t remember closing) and probably runs down the hallway, down the stairs, through the foyer and out the door. Across the streets, crisscrossing and zig zagging around until it reaches Angie Yonaga’s house. Somewhere inside of that house, Angie is probably asleep, a weight around her ankle.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Or maybe she’s awake? Tenko tucks her hands under her head, staring up at the ceiling. Maybe she’s awake like Tenko is, trying to process all of this. Maybe she can’t sleep. Maybe she’s talking to God.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Tenko doesn’t feel as upset as she should. Blindsided in the moment for sure, but not all that upset. In retrospect she thinks she might’ve known on some level that Himiko isn’t her soulmate. If she was she would’ve said something. And besides-- how could Himiko have known someone is her soulmate without the other person knowing too? It doesn’t make any sense. As much as Himiko is lovely and smart and wonderful, Tenko can’t exactly resent whoever </span>
  <em>
    <span>is </span>
  </em>
  <span>her soulmate. It’s not their fault Tenko jumped to conclusions on the matter.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>(Besides, they’re not a </span>
  <em>
    <span>boy, </span>
  </em>
  <span>so Tenko doesn’t care.)</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She feels… kind of bad for running away, honestly. What kind of message will that send Angie? She said something mean, challenged her beliefs, treated her like she was stupid, and then refused to apologise for weeks. And the second they both realised who they are to each other… Tenko took off.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Obviously she doesn’t </span>
  <em>
    <span>want </span>
  </em>
  <span>Angie to be her soulmate, but, well, it’s not like she has much of a say in the matter. Besides, she’s… kind of just decided not to like Angie, out of jealousy, or whatever. There won’t be any reason for that anymore.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>On impulse, Tenko gets out of bed, shucks off her school uniform and changes into something more comfortable, a t-shirt and jeans. She grabs a jacket too, slings her backpack over her shoulder, and slips out of her room. The stairs creak a bit on the way down but she pays them no mind because her parents sleep like rocks. Tenko steps out of her indoor shoes and into her sneakers, grabbing her keys and fixing her hair a bit at the door before exiting her house.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The neighborhood is asleep still. Nobody has any reason to be awake this early on a Saturday. Anybody who works today will be going in later, or else is already there. Her ribbon, still bright and present as ever, runs down the sidewalk and around the corner, and Tenko reaches down to tug gently on it. Angie should feel that. If she’s even awake.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>With nothing else to do, Tenko sets out and follows it.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The walk is long. They don’t live very close. Tenko steps out of the quiet neighbourhood she’s lived in all her life and into a more metropolitan area. Houses get replaced by tall apartment buildings, run-down duplexes and things that could hardly be called more than shacks. Tenko’s ribbon leads her to a building that she doesn’t need to ring a buzzer to enter. The person behind the desk is asleep. Tenko walks silently past them and follows her ribbon up the stairs, where it winds up to the third floor, and then trails under a door at the end of the hallway.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Tenko doesn’t like this place much. The walls are yellowed and dirty. Plaster is peeling off of them. It’s not well-maintained. Why does Angie live in such a run-down apartment complex? She’s a foreign exchange student. Maybe her host family is just poor? But if that’s the case, why host a student to begin with?</span>
  <span><br/>
<br/>
</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Shrugging off these inquiries for another time, Tenko pulls out her phone and shoots Angie a text message.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>[Hey, are you awake? Tenko is outside your apartment but she doesn’t want to ring the bell and wake up your host family…]</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The response comes in within seconds.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>[Tenko is WHAT?]</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>[wait]</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>A harsh tug at her ribbon nearly makes Tenko fall over, and then she hears footsteps from inside the apartment. The door flies open, revealing Angie, looking…</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Well, Tenko has never seen her outside of school before. Her platinum blonde hair is out of pigtails, tied into a low, messy bun. Her face and hands are smeared with paint and her eyes ringed with purple, as though she’s been painting all night. She smells like daisies, and fruity shampoo.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>For the first time ever, Tenko notices that Angie doesn’t even have a ghost of a smile on her face. She doesn’t look angry, though, just confused and a bit worried. She slips out into the hallway and closes the door behind herself. She’s wearing a large grey t-shirt that’s covered in paint stains and black shorts that are almost entirely covered up. No indoor shoes, just socks. There’s a particularly large smear of red paint across her knee.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>And their ribbon is shorter than its ever been.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“What are you doing here?” Angie whispers. “It’s so early.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Dunno.” Tenko scratches the back of her neck and averts her gaze. “Tenko felt-- bad, for taking off so suddenly.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Why? If you hadn’t, I would’ve.” The fact that Angie is speaking in first person leaves Tenko unreasonably surprised. But it’s so </span>
  <em>
    <span>early. </span>
  </em>
  <span>And she seems remarkably disheveled. “Neither of us was expecting that. I don’t blame you.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Maybe you should,” Tenko says. Angie raises her eyebrows. “I’ve been--” she pauses. Flounders. “Look, I owe you an apology.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“What? For what?” Angie frowns.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“For what I said about God.” Tenko elaborates, frustrated. Angie gives her a long, measured look, and then begins to laugh.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Tenko-- sorry, does it bother you that I use your given name? We have different customs on my island, but if you don’t--”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“It’s fine, Tenko is used to it,” Tenko dismisses. She pouts. “Why are you laughing?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I don’t know why you’re apologising,” Angie explains, calming down a bit. The mirth doesn’t quite leave her eyes, though. “You’re hardly the worst offender in that respect. Kokichi told Angie point blank that he thinks I’m very stupid for believing in a higher power, and that religion only exists the control the poor.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Tenko opens her mouth.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“He has a point,” Angie cuts in. “Before you call him a degenerate. That’s just not how it is on </span>
  <em>
    <span>Angie’s </span>
  </em>
  <span>island. God is around to provide guidance. A, uhm, reassurance that you’re going to make it through your hardships. Sure, there are some weird customs,” Tenko recalls something about blood sacrifices, “but ultimately He exists because people need Him.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Right,” Tenko replies. She swallows hard. Maybe it’s just the hour, or the dim lighting in the hallway outside of Angie’s apartment, but something about this feels… different, from talking to Angie at most times of day. She’s leaning against the doorframe with her arms crossed over her chest. She hasn’t made one move to bounce over and touch Tenko, nor has she let out any high pitched laughs or given any of those smiles that have always, to Tenko, looked really plastic. Still, her chest feels tight. “Were you really not mad?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh, no, Angie was mad,” Angie smiles.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“But--”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Because it was you saying it,” she continues. “Hearing that from Miu, eh. She doesn’t care about her opinion. Kokichi never means what he says. Kaito is unintelligent and Angie could care less about him-- Maki is frankly so hostile Angie really doesn’t </span>
  <em>
    <span>want </span>
  </em>
  <span>her respect, and even when Himiko scoffs about Angie’s God, it’s not a big deal because, well,” Angie pauses. “Angie thought that Himiko was her soulmate, so she didn’t mind a small difference in opinion.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“It feels like more than just a small difference in opinion.” Tenko remarks.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Relationships work out where there are differences in beliefs all the time. Religion shouldn’t be the deciding factor in whether or not you’ll love someone. Actually, it’s better </span>
  <em>
    <span>to </span>
  </em>
  <span>disagree in some areas. Healthier.” Angie shrugs. “It hurt, though, from Tenko. Like, a lot. What you said wasn’t even that mean, but I was really, really hurt, and I couldn’t figure out why, so that made me really, really angry.”</span>
  <span></span><br/>
<span><br/>
</span>
  <span>Tenko recalls the frequent irritation that blossomed in her chest every time Angie draped her arms over Himiko’s shoulders, the way she got unreasonably upset when Angie gushed about Himiko’s looks and ignored that Tenko was even there. Would she have liked to have been complimented too? She slides her hands into her pockets, mulling over the implications of her emotions now that she knows they’re soulmates.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>(The way Angie is shrugged off by their peers, treated like she’s crazy or simply really stupid… Tenko understands that and she always has.)</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Okay. Well,” Tenko pauses. “Tenko was really disappointed yesterday. But--” she hesitates. “Not as disappointed as she should’ve been?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Same here.” Angie’s smile this time is careworn. “She expected to be really jealous, but she actually just felt… relieved. And when she looked down at her ankle and saw it was you, it--” she bites her lip. “It made sense.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It </span>
  <em>
    <span>did </span>
  </em>
  <span>make sense. And it still does. Tenko shifts her weight. “Can we take it slow, then? Actually get to know each other. Spend some time together without Yumeno around. Not that we should stop being around Yumeno, but,” more hesitation. Tenko’s throat feels dry. “Tenko wants to get to know you.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Alright.” Angie says quietly. She reaches out and brushes a strand of hair behind Tenko’s ear. When she pulls her hand away, Tenko’s cheek seems to burn. “Angie would like that.” She smiles again, but this time it’s softer, sweeter. Much more genuine than anything Tenko has seen on her face before. And when the smile relaxes, Angie’s neutral expression looks… perfectly natural.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Tenko will walk you to school today,” Tenko tells her, and Angie nods, opening her door. She gestures for Tenko to follow her into her apartment.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You can sit down for a while,” Angie explains lightly, inclining her head. “Take off your shoes, please.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>As Tenko does so, her hand brushes against the ribbon, which still hasn’t disappeared, and Angie raises her eyebrows but says nothing. The smile that spreads across Tenko’s face is embarrassed, but it’s a good, fluttering kind of embarrassment. She’s felt it before, but with Angie, somehow… it feels different. The space between them is so small as they walk to Angie’s room that the ribbon is taut, and less than a foot long. As it should be, perhaps.</span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>:3 tenkangie good</p><p>wow i'm gay for the mental image of angie with a messy bun. these works are so self indulgent you guys really have no idea</p><p>tfw you insult ur future gf's religion bc you both wanna magic gf but it turns out your magic gf just wants to fuck the anthropologist man :pensive: this is so sad</p><p>shoutout to platonics for reading all these works... at least i assume so, it's february eleventh for me rn and i'll be posting this in ten days but ya know. just a lil bit, a teensy tiny bit, of himikiyo. just for fun</p><p>this was supposed to be funnier than it was :( know that in an au tenko sees the ribbon and goes "oh HELL no" and angie proceeds to be a gremlin. i just don't have the energy</p><p>i love how my works have been like consistently fluctuating between Long and Short. gdi. i have no ability, none whatsoever, to regulate the lengths of my works</p><p>love y'all &lt;3</p></blockquote></div></div>
</body>
</html>